Chuck vs Destiny
by Darkened Void
Summary: After graduating from Stanford, Chuck decided to make a difference and joined the military. With six months left in his contract with the Army he was captured and made a POW, but soon he will have to make another life altering decision. AU Charah.
1. Prologue: Praying for Freedom

**A/N: **I had this idea while I was sitting around thinking about Chuck, as I am prone to do, and I decided to put it to paper! I hope it turns out as good as it is in my head. This story is extremely military based so I'm sorry if some of you can't keep up with some of the lingo I will be prone to using. If you have any questions about it just ask me! Keep in mind that all the events in this chapter are happening simultaneously, but the differences in time zones make it look like the date is different. I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Chuck, but I surely wish I did.

**Chuck vs. Destiny**

**Prologue: **Praying for Freedom

**17 June 2007**

**Kunar, Afghanistan**

**0335 hours UTC**

Six months… He had spent six months rotting in this dark, damp hell-hole. Every day of that six months had been spent wishing he were out, wishing that he were back with his friends…his brothers in arms. Those memories of his friends…his family…his life outside of this place were the only things that kept him sane. If not for them, he would have lost his mind two weeks into his capture. He constantly imagined what he would do when he was freed, if he would ever become free again, but the problem was that he could not imagine life outside of the cavern system he had been trapped in anymore. He could barely remember what life had been like before it. Imprisonment of this kind tended to mess with a person's mind after so long.

The dim lighting, the musty air, the lack of sleep, the constant threat of fresh pain, the lack of food. That had become his life, the only one he had known for the last six months. It had become his reality.

U.S. Army Captain Charles Bartowski had signed up for active duty in 2003, only one month after he had graduated from Stanford University. He had wanted to make something of his life. He had wanted to make a difference. Even now, though he was a POW at the moment, he did not regret that decision. June 17, 2003, he had signed his life away with a naïve smile, not knowing what lay before him. He had gone into the service with an optimism that most went in with but few ever left with. He had graduated with a degree in computer engineering and had gone into the Army deciding that he was going to go into Military Intelligence. His job was important, and safe, save for the twenty or so fire fights he had been involved in. He hadn't counted on his enemy being smart enough to capture him.

Captain Bartowski lifted his head slightly, looking at his arms that were suspended by chains hooked to the ceiling of the cave he had been located in for six months. They were old and rusty, just like everything else in the cave. By all accounts he should be sleeping since he got little, if any of that, but thoughts of home kept him awake. He missed his sister. Hell, he even missed his best friend Morgan's creepy friends at the Buy More. He rarely ever got to see any of them since he was often stuck in remote places going over secret government documents, but he missed them all the same.

His captors had left him alone for the past few hours. He couldn't tell time in the cave, but if he had to guess he would say that it had been about twelve hours. He enjoyed every minute of peace he could get since it was such a rarity. He had no idea why they hadn't killed him yet. He had seen several others come in, but they rarely lasted longer than a week. The only reason he could come up with his reason for survival was that it was a rare commodity to come across an MI officer. They had tortured him for six months straight, trying to get information from him. He hadn't talked so far, and he had a feeling they were quickly growing tired of his silence.

Chuck looked over at the sleeping guard on duty and wondered how long it would be before his commanding officer came in and woke him up. That would put them both in a bad mood, which they would consequently take out on him.

'_I wonder if I'll ever get out of this place. They probably think I'm dead already. What makes it worse is that I've heard fire fights that were not too far away from here. I just want to go home.'_

There he was… the commanding officer. Chuck watched helplessly as the older man walked over to the sleeping guard and kicked him awake, screaming at him in Arabic. It had been part of Chuck's training to learn Arabic, but he had never let them know that. He wanted to make it as hard on them as possible. Perhaps that was his own stubbornness kicking in, or perhaps he was just being stupid.

"Wake up, you fool!" the commanding officer yelled at his subordinate, who was scrambling to his feet while simultaneously knocking his AK-47 onto the grimy floor of the cavern. "The infidel may not be going anywhere anytime soon, but that does not give you the right to lay here and disgrace those of us working toward our heavenly goal."

Chuck had to keep himself from rolling his eyes even though he knew it wouldn't make a bit of difference in the end. More angry words were said by the commanding officer before he left the room, leaving the Army Captain with one extremely displeased subordinate.

**16 June 2007**

**Washington D.C. (CIA Headquarters)**

**1710 Hours ET**

CIA Agent Sarah Walker sat stoically in the waiting room, waiting to see CIA Director Graham. Her granite blue eyes bore holes into the secretary who was currently tapping her pen on her wooden desk, though she showed now outward signs of being stared down by said agent. Even though Agent Walker was thoroughly annoyed by the constant tapping of the assistant's pen, her focus was more on her confusion.

She had been in Cabo, working to take down an insider weapons deal when she had gotten called off the case by the Director saying that he "needed her in Washington within the day". She had been working three weeks on that case that had been deemed important by the CIA. Why in the world would they call her off just as she was about to take down her marks?

As Agent Walker sat and thought about the possible reasons she had been pulled off the case the assistant began to tap her pen more insistently. She was nervous about something, but the stone cold CIA agent did not have time to worry about such trivialities. However, if the incessant tapping did not stop soon she would slowly be driven crazy by the annoying intrusion to her thoughts. That meant that eventually she would not be able to guarantee the physical well being of Director Graham's office jockey. The only reason she had not made a move to stop the nervous woman was because she highly doubted that her head boss would be too pleased if his office eye candy were harmed in any way, psychologically or physically.

A sudden beep over the intercom on the secretary's desk startled both the women, but Agent Walker showed no outward signs of being jumpy other than her eyes darting over to the offending object. She surprisingly had not realized how much she had worked herself up over the past hour of waiting. But, then again, she had never been called off to report to her boss during an important mission. The hardened CIA agent figured she had just reason to be nervous about whatever Director Graham wanted of her, but she could not let him know that; to do so would be unprofessional and would only prove to make her life as a spy harder.

"Agent W-Walker." The secretary looked at Sarah with tears brimming in her eyes and a quivering lip, though she tried to hide her emotions. "Director Graham will see you now."

Sarah had never wanted to roll her eyes at a person more in her life, but she did her best to smile sweetly at the younger girl anyway. Surely, whatever the young woman was going through in her life could not be nearly as bad as what she had to do on a daily basis. "Thank you very much."

As soon as Agent Walker walked past the secretary she once again changed her facial expression to bear her stoic mien. She would not appear unprofessional in front of her boss. When she reached her hand out to grab the silver door knob that was attached to a large cherry door her heart began to pound against her ribcage with a renewed force. Usually, that only happened either during a gun fight or a very long foot chase. How this meeting was getting to her this much, she could not figure out.

"Ah, good evening, Agent Walker."

She had always hated Graham's falsely cheerful greetings. She knew he did not mean any of his kind words. She had no idea why he even bothered shielding what he said with happiness half of the time anyway. Perhaps he only did so in order to gain her trust because he had not been able to do so in the five years that she had worked for the company.

"Good evening, Director." Agent Walker nodded her head briefly to her boss before she closed the door behind her and walked in front of his cherry desk. What was it with the CIA and cherry wood?

"I trust you are most confused about why you are here today." It had always amazed her how the Director could openly ask a question while not technically asking one. She supposed that was a skill one acquired from being around politicians for several hours out of several days of the week.

She did not, however, acknowledge the Director's question. She merely stared at the man almost expectantly. Agent Walker did not want him to know that he held _too_ much power over her.

"I suppose you are not entirely pleased that I pulled you off of your assignment early." Again with the damn sentence questions! Sarah had to resist rolling her eyes at the much older man. "But you will be pleased that I pulled you off your assignment in order to place you on a much more important assignment."

This was not the answer Sarah had been expecting. "I'm sorry, sir. I'm afraid I don't understand. When you tasked me with the capture of the leaders of the Cabo weapons cartel you told me that this was the most important mission the CIA had available at the moment. I found out they were selling SCARs to the Aphgans, sir. We both know what that could do to the war."

"That is all good and well, Agent Walker, but I'm afraid this mission I am going to place you on takes much higher precedence." Director Graham motioned to the black leather seat in front of his desk before he sat down behind his desk and began to shuffle through some folders that had found themselves scattered across its surface. He stopped and looked up when he found the folder he was looking for. Director Graham frowned when he saw that Agent Walker had not taken a seat. "I assume you have heard of Project OMAHA, Agent Walker?

"Only rumors, sir," she replied, quirking an eyebrow. "The closest thing I could find to intel on Project OMAHA was rumors. Most of them said that the Intersect project did not exist."

"Well, Agent Walker, I am pleased to inform you that those rumors are, in fact, very false." Director Graham's lips curled upward when he took in the sight of Agent Walker's jaw going slightly slack, but she quickly recovered her composure just as he had expected her to. "Our scientists have worked for the past thirty years on Project OMAHA with great success, considering the magnitude of the project, but it has only been within the last decade that we have been working toward the ultimate goal of the project: the human Intersect."

"I'm afraid I don't understand how this relates to my new mission." Sarah fought the distinct urge to cross her arms under her chest.

"We have found a potential suitor for the human Intersect project," Graham replied simply. "That is where you come in, Agent Walker."

"You want me to recover Agent Larkin, then?" Agent Larkin was her partner in the CIA. He had been for the past four years. Six months ago, though, Director Graham had sent him on a top secret assignment somewhere in a third world country with implicit instructions not to take anybody with him. She had not had contact with the man since the day he had left for his destination. "I assume your tests found that he was the only possible candidate?"

"No." Graham's response did little more than confuse Agent Walker even further than she had been previously. "I assume you have heard rumors of how the human Intersect project operates."

When Sarah shook her head at the older man his eyes betrayed a small amount of surprise, but he continued, nonetheless. "The Intersect computer is a detailed computer program that uses encoded pictures, images, or video clips to piece together information collected by all the major defense organizations in the United States, though most of the information comes from the CIA and the NSA. It is thought that by watching the encoded images in rapid succession the subject will be able to call on those images and, in turn, he or she will be able call on the government secrets encoded in those images. We do not know how the computer will work inside a person's head, however, since all of our attempts to do so have failed."

"Why have the experiments failed, sir?" Agent Walker had set her firm gaze on the CIA director, hardly believing the incredible words coming out of his mouth.

"Because the subject involved in the testing must have an information retention rate of at least ninety-six percent in order for the project to be successful in a human, or so the scientist suppose." Graham paused to take a breath as he shuffled the project files in his hands. This was the first time she had ever seen her boss anywhere near being nervous. He was always so calm and composed. "Agent Larkin took the test three times and he only scored ninety-five percent each time. He had been our first choice."

"What happens when you try to download the Intersect computer into a person whose retention rate is below ninety-six percent?"

"They die," Graham instantly said, his gaze turning to the window to the left of his desk. "Ten agents have died so far. That is how the scientists came up with their prediction of ninety-six percent. Those who had retention rates of ninety-five percent were able to download all of the information in the Intersect computer, but any time they attempted to recall any of the information they died. We have found only one other person who we believe will be able to handle the Intersect download. Bartowski's file had been tampered with for some reason. It showed his score was only ninety percent when he actually scored ninety-eight percent. We believe that Larkin had something to do with that. There has been one other candidate we wish to test, but we do not believe she would be willing to do the testing."

"Me?" Sarah's heart jumped nervously at the thought of being tested for such a project.

"No, Sarah." Director Graham laughed slightly at her guess before he handed her the file that was in his hand. She took the manila folder with an eyebrow raised. "This is the man that will hopefully be downloading the Intersect. We need you to find him."

Sarah did not reply. She instead looked at the file of the man she was to find. He was not an overly handsome man, but he definitely did not fit the normal military look even though his hair was buzzed and he was clean shaven. His eyes were too kind.

**Classified**

**Name: Captain Charles Irving Bartowski**

** Age: 26**

**Family: Elanore Fay Bartowski **

** Current Location: Encino, California**

** Father: Stephen J. Bartowski (Location currently unknown)**

** Mother: Mary Elizabeth Bartowski (Location currently unknown)**

**Occupation: U.S. Army Captain**

** MOS: 96B (Intelligence Analyst)**

** Last known location: Kunduz, Afghanistan (Current location unknown)**

**Last seen: 12 DEC 2006**

**Importance: BS in Computer Engineering from Stanford University 2003. Possible field analyst. Shows great potential. **

There were several more pages of information on the Captain showing his past history and his performance in the Army, but she knew she would have time to look through all of that later.

"How am I supposed to find him if his whereabouts have been unknown for over six months, sir?" It's not like she had never done a mission like this one before, but she had never done one such as this in the mountains of Afghanistan.

"Ah, I'm glad you asked." Agent Walker had to bite her tongue to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Her boss could be so full of himself sometimes. "For the past year we have had a small team of four U.S. Army Green Berets who have infiltrated into a small al Qaeda cell operating mainly on the outskirts of Kunar. The CIA sanctioned this mission, off the record of course, and turned the carrying out of the mission over to Lieutenant General Markham and his team. The team of four men has been out of contact for the past eight months. The mission was considered a failure after six months and the men were considered most likely dead. Until one of the Lieutenant General's subordinates received a com transmission from the team's Captain two days ago. They had infiltrated the cell that captured Captain Bartowski six months ago."

"So my mission is to retrieve the Captain and bring him back here to you. How do you want me to do that?" Most missions Agent Walker had taken let her come up with her own plans on how to complete them, but she knew that a mission of this magnitude would have already been pre-planned by the Director and the Lieutenant General.

"We arranged a flight for you to a remote location thirty kilometers outside of Kunar. You will fly there and meet with Captain Reed. We have sent your four man team to his safe house in Kunar. Captain Reed will go over the mission specs with you on the way to his safe house. You will pose as his cousin, Aaqila Keleft, who is visiting her family from America. Your cover husband, who will not be traveling with you since he is ill and in the care of your daughter, is Saabir Keleft. I will leave you in charge of creating a back story for you and your cover husband in case you are asked, which should not be a problem. Your flight leaves in five hours, Agent Walker. The espionage crew in the basement will give you your disguise and fake passport and papers. This mission does not call for any prisoners. Any questions, Agent Walker?" Graham looked expectantly at Sarah as she further scanned over Captain Bartowski's file.

"Only one, sir," she replied as she closed the Captain's file. "Why did you choose me for a mission of this magnitude? We have plenty of agents of Arabic descent who do missions such as this all the time. Why not use one of them?"

"Because, Walker, you're the best we have," he replied gravely, "And the only agent we can trust with a mission of this magnitude. If that is the only question you have then you are dismissed, Agent Walker. You are to report directly to the espionage crew when we are done here."

"Thank you, sir. I'll have Captain Bartowski here within the next three days." Sarah inclined her head toward her boss before she turned on her heel and made her way to Graham's cherry door.

"Oh, and, Walker." Sarah paused with her hand reaching toward the silver polished door knob and looked over her shoulder at the Director. "Good luck."

Without replying, CIA Agent Sarah Walker walked out of Director Graham's office mentally preparing herself for what could, in her mind, possibly be her most difficult and most important mission to date.

**17 June 2007**

**Kunar, Afghanistan**

**0910 hours UTC**

Captain Charles Irving Bartowski curled into a ball, his hands bound painfully behind his back, on the cave floor as the last of his torturers left the room to do whatever it was they did. He was naked, as he had been most of his six months in the cave, and both of his shoulders were dislocated. They had made the mistake of untying him as soon as they began their session and he had tried to run. He had managed to fight two of them off since they were not trained in close hand combatives, but one of the guards assigned to him shot him in both his thighs, putting an end to his escape attempt. Thankfully, no major veins or arteries had been hit and the bleeding had stopped a few hours ago, but he knew he would be dead within the next two days from infection if he did not receive immediate medical attention. That, he knew, would not happen since his captors kept their small stash of medical supplies only for themselves.

His current condition is not what concerned him, though. He knew he would be dead before the infection ever got a chance to kill him. The one thing he had noticed throughout his entire torture session was that they had not asked him a single question, which was far from the norm. They had tortured him for fun, and had even recorded it. He knew he would be dead within the next two to three days. They had grown tired of his silence.

God had always been a bit of a foreign concept to Charles Bartowski. Sure, he had attended a few services that Chaplain Conner had provided back at Camp Kilo, where he and his platoon had been attached to an Infantry unit for three months, but that was only because the Major had been the first friend he had made outside of the men in his platoon at the camp. They had discussed God and religion several times over the course of his three month span at Camp Kilo, but religion was just not something the young Captain had given much thought or attention to in his life. Even in his six month stint in the al Qaeda cave he had not prayed. Not that he held anything against God, if He even existed; Chuck just had other things occupying his mind during his days there.

"God." He ignored the pain as he shivered on the cold rock beneath him. "If you're up there, I hope you hear me. I know I haven't talked to you in a long time, not since my Mom was killed, but I really need you right now. I don't want to die. I want to make it out of here. I want to see Ellie and Devon and Morgan again. Hell, I even wouldn't mind seeing Jeff and Lester again. If you're up there, I know we haven't been on the best terms over the years, but I need your help. You're the last hope that I have to get out of here. If you just get me out of here I promise I'll be better. I'll attend church more often. I'll help the poor and needy. I'll do community service. I'll do anything…Just please… get me out of here."

Shivering and broken, the once proud Captain Charles Bartowski laid on the cave floor waiting silently for an answer from God as one of his captors looked on him with something akin to pity.

XvXvX

**A/N: **Well, how was that for a prologue? Tell me in a review! It will take me a while to update because I am an extremely busy person between school and other activities. And I still am working on an outline for this story. Plus, I want to get a few chapter buffer for this story and stay ahead. But I promise I will do my bestest! Please tell me what you think of this story!

**Next Chapter: (Answered Prayers)** Sarah comes to the rescue, but will she be able to get to Chuck in time before something even more terrible happens to him? Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 1: Answered Prayers

**A/N: **Well, to say that I was shocked at the amount of reviews I got so quickly would be an understatement. Thanks, you guys! I love you all! I daresay I am as excited about this story as you guys are, so that's a great thing! It's because of you that I want to write so much!

Also, I would like to give a shout out to a guy who is writing a great story. **Chuckfan56. **His story, _Chuck vs the Inevitability of Life_, is a great read. There are some grammatical issues with the story, but the plot is original and a blast to read. I highly encourage that you read his work! It also helps that I'm his new Beta for the story. Ha.

And, as a warning, there is a torture scene in this chapter. So if you're skittish about that kind of thing, just skim until you get past it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Chuck, and since I do not own it I make no money off of it. I just want to have fun writing about my favorite show!

**Chuck vs. Destiny**

**Chapter 1: **Answered Prayers

**18 June 2007**

**Kunar, Afghanistan**

**1555 hours UTC**

Chuck screamed in pain and bit down on a piece of wood that had been shoved sideways in his mouth as one of his captors dug around in his left leg with a pocket knife to retrieve the bullet that had been implanted in it the day before. He had four others holding him down. Infection had already begun to set in both of his bullet wounds, but the men currently operating on him did not care about that. This was just more fun to be had before they killed him. He had picked up on that bit of information a few hours previous from a conversation between two of his captors as he pretended to sleep.

They laughed. He hated it more than the torture itself. Every time they set up to cause him pain they laughed as he screamed. They would spit on him and yell at him in Arabic while they would torture him. They enjoyed hearing his screams of pain. He never begged. He knew they would only get off on him begging so he never gave them the satisfaction. They were laughing now as his captor was digging through his leg mercilessly. Chuck could see him clear as day. The man's eyes lit up with glee as his own blood specked across the man's face.

Five minutes later, they had extracted the bullet from Chuck's left leg and they all sat around and looked at the bullet. He had no idea why, but they seemed to get just as much enjoyment out of looking at what had disabled him as much as they enjoyed hurting him. With a sadistic smirk, the man holding the bullet put the offending item in Chuck's left hand and closed his fingers around it. He was taunting him. After a few seconds the man looked down and frowned. He was losing too much blood.

"Quick," Chuck heard him yell in Arabic, "Bring me one of the foot long metal rods and a blowtorch! He's lost enough blood from the wounds already! He cannot die before we make an example out of him tonight!"

Seconds later another man brought him the requested items and Chuck watched in horror as the man at his feet began to heat up the rod until it was red hot. The Army Captain began to shake his head vehemently in protest. He would rather bleed out and die than go through any more of what they were doing to him.

Chuck screamed, feeling his throat get ripped raw from the intensity of it, as his torturer stuck the red hot rod into his leg wound and began to burn his flesh so he would not bleed out. Chuck could see the edges of his vision fading into white, but for some reason he could not slip into the tempting unconsciousness. The pain would not allow him to do so. It only lasted seconds, but it felt as if the man had left the offending item in his leg for an eternity.

After he was done, the man threw the two items away and once again grabbed his knife. Chuck's vision had blurred and he had stopped screaming, but he could still see the slight gleam of the blood colored knife in the dim light. He shook his head once more, but this time he could barely manage to move it. He had undergone torture resistance training in SEREs training when he first joined the Army, but what he was going through now was so much worse. His screams were once again heard throughout the cave as the man repeated the process on his still wounded right leg.

Eternity was another concept that had eluded Chuck's vast amount of intimate knowledge his entire life. How could one understand the concept of the infinite when they themselves were finite creatures? Chuck now knew that concept. The pain from his "surgery" felt like it had gone on for an eternity, that it would never end. If he were not in so much pain he would have laughed at how much he had learned the past two days. First, God, and now eternity.

Chuck heard his torturer say something, but his mind was too clouded to translate anything he heard. A few seconds later they began to haul him to a standing position by the armpits while he groaned pitifully in protest. His actions only made them laugh and taunt him more. After he was brought to a standing position the men at his sides brought his arms around their shoulders. More pain seared through Chuck's body, causing him to scream once again, as they forced his dislocated shoulders to move.

The man who had dug the bullets out of his legs now stood in front of him, but Chuck could not raise his head to look at him. He lacked the strength and willpower to do so. Chuck tried to weakly shrug off the man as he cupped his chin in his hand and force the Captain to look at him, but he failed. This only made the man laugh at him before Chuck spat in his face.

His captor stepped back in surprise as he wiped the clear liquid off his face. After he stared at his hand for a few seconds he glared hotly at Chuck before he pulled his fist back as far as he could.

**18 June 2007**

**Twenty miles outside Kunar**

**1620 hours UTC**

CIA Agent Sarah Walker cursed as she stepped out of the AH-64A Apache helicopter in the designated drop zone. She had ridden in a C-130 until she was about one hundred miles outside of Kunar. She had had to parachute out of the plane because the large aircraft tended to draw more attention than passing helicopters did and she did not want to parachute in so close to where her mark was located. It was not that she minded jumping out of planes. No, she did not mind that at all since she had done it at least ten times before. Sarah Walker was pissed because she was late. During a last minute inspection somebody had found something wrong with the plane and that had set her back several hours.

After she was done with her small cursing session over the fact that she was late Agent Walker looked around and memorized her surroundings while chastising herself for not doing that first after she had vacated the chopper. There was little to no green in the small village that the chopper had landed in. The village had long since been abandoned, most likely because of the al Qaeda activity near it, but the United States government had built a helipad in the village. She thought that building said helipad made no sense, but she knew if she spent her life trying to figure out why the government did all the things they did she would never get out of bed in the morning to go to work. The adobe brick houses that the villagers used to live in had to have been abandoned at least five years previous. They had become run down and were crumbling all over.

A slight breeze tossed Agent Walker's golden hair before she realized she needed to put it up in a tight bun so she would not have to worry about it while she changed into her disguise later. However, she was forced to stop halfway through her work and put her hand on the handle of her Smith and Wesson that was currently pressed against the small of her back when a man of Afghani descent walked out of one of the broken down adobe houses and made a bee line straight toward her.

Said man raised his hands above his head, his AK-47 that was strapped around his shoulder swinging stupidly, and smiled at her. His smile was not malicious, rather one of happiness and excitement. "Agent Walker," he said with a slight Boston accent, "Are you coming to the toga party?"

Lowering her Smith and Wesson, Sarah glared at the man in front of her. "You're lucky I didn't shoot you, Captain Reed." She rolled her eyes as she stuck her large pistol back into her the waist of her black slacks before pulling her black shirt over it to hide it.

"I knew you wouldn't shoot, Agent Walker," the Captain said with a smile on his face. "You didn't have the look in your eyes that showed me that you would shoot me right away. You really should pay more attention to your surroundings. I could have killed you at least ten times since the chopper landed. If I'm going to trust you working with my team I'm going to have to know that you will be more careful than you have shown me so far."

Sarah smiled as she lifted the lower portion of her left leg up to her rear and began to seemingly fiddle with her shoe, trying to fix it. Her smile grew as she noted that Captain Reed had not noticed her pull out a throwing knife out of the harness around her ankle. Her face quickly shifting to a serious mien, she threw the knife at the man's turban right above the crown of the man's head. It took the Captain a few seconds to catch up to what had happened and Sarah had to force herself to keep a serious look on her face as she walked over to retrieve her knife. 

"I assure you, Captain," Sarah replied calmly as she yanked on the knife that was stuck in his turban, causing it to shift and cover his eyes, "That I am much more than capable of taking care of myself, your team, and my team. All you need to worry about is keeping Captain Bartowski alive long enough to let me get to him."

"Why is he so important that I would get a radio transmission directly from the Lieutenant General yesterday, Agent Walker?" Captain Reed glared lightly at the female agent in front of him as he fixed his turban and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why is the government having me risk my team's lives and covers for this man?"

"That's above your pay grade, Captain," Sarah replied as she walked over to one of the falling adobe houses while unzipping her backpack. "All you need to know is that Charles Bartowski's life is more valuable than either yours or your team's. If he dies, my boss will not be pleased."

Captain Reed watched Agent Walker intently while she walked into the house. No doubt she was changing into her disguise. As he watched he could not decide what he thought about the mysterious woman. He had asked his superiors if they had heard anything about her, but the woman was a ghost. All they knew was that her boss highly recommended her. He could not deny that the woman had some mad skills, from what he had seen from her and what little he had heard about her when he had spoken to her boss, but he was still not sure if he could trust her with his team or not. That was, after all, what was most important to him. Who was this woman, Sarah Walker, and where did she come from? Well, he knew she worked for the CIA, but in what capacity? What was her job? Why was this U.S. Army Captain so important that both the Green Berets and the CIA were involved?

He sighed in frustration as he ran a hand through his long, dirty beard. Captain Reed did not like not knowing what was going on around him. Sure, there were several times when he was on a mission that he did not know the specifics, but he had never had to stumble around in the dark this much. If the Captain was honest with himself he would say that he was a little scared, which was more than just a little out of character for him, because of this wild card woman that he was being forced to work with. He just hoped that his team would survive.

**18 June 2007**

**Kunar, Afghanistan**

**2050 hours UTC**

Chuck moaned in pain as he was kicked awake by one of his captors. He couldn't recall how many hours he had been tortured and beaten, but he could feel every newly cracked rib and every newly formed bruise as awareness slowly started to fade back into his body. He had passed out an hour and a half into the torture session, around the time they had began to waterlog him and beat him every few minutes. Chuck was ready for everything to be over. He knew that within the hour he would be dead. Al Qaeda always got sadistic with their prisoners before they taped their execution, and as much as Chuck wanted to see his family one last time, he wanted the pain to go away even more. Sometime over the course of the past twenty-four hours they had broken him.

The man looming over his naked form yelled something at him in Arabic before slamming the butt of his AK-47 into the Captain's still dislocated right shoulder, causing him to scream out in agony. The man only laughed before he threw a pair of pants on top of his head and walked to the other side of the room. He had been right. He would be dead within the hour. The prisoners Chuck had seen in this camp died when they were given clothes. Captain Bartowski had never been able to figure out why they gave the prisoners clothes before they were filmed being beheaded. The terrorists had stripped all of them of all their dignity before that point anyway. Why did they give them any dignity back at all?

"Well, God," Chuck squeezed out between painful winces as he attempted to put his pants he was given on. "It looks like I'm about to meet you. Can't say that life was too fun here. Maybe there'll be an Xbox waiting for me with a new Call of Duty."

It took the severely injured Captain about five minutes to put his pants on without any assistants from his captors. After he was done he went back to waiting on the cavern floor for somebody to either start to beat him again or take him to the execution room they had set up before he had ever been captured. Momentarily, Chuck closed his left eye and the room went black. His right eye had been swollen shut from the beatings.

Time, in Chuck's opinion, haad always passed far too quickly for his liking, but the past six months had been hell. Time had passed at a reverse crawl and the next twenty minutes were no exception. He had always found that when you were looking forward to something time seemed to stand still, that its passage eluded him. Why did time have to be so damn fickle? Because he was looking forward to being gone from the pain he had been caused for over six months, not that he knew how long it had really been, time was creeping, taking away from what he wanted most.

Chuck sighed and closed his left eye as he looked back on his life. Before long he began to laugh at the absurdity of everything. The war, his family, his friends, how he freaked out about so much that was never worth freaking out over in the first place, how life had been taken away from him, him being stuck in a cave for months. He rarely ever thought about his life because of the pain it caused, but now he could look back without that pain, knowing he would never have to go back to it. He did not even miss his life any more. He was ok with the fact that he was going to die. It no longer scared him.

Why had he even been scared of death in the first place? It couldn't be so bad. Sure, it was going to hurt, the way he would die, but how would that pain be any different than what had happened to him the past two days, other than the end result being his death? As Chuck thought about it he realized the answer was hope. By hoping for life, the brain justified death as being terrible. What a great and terrible emotion hope was, he supposed. He supposed he was still hoping at the moment though, but this time he hoped for death and not life.

He had always heard that people saw things differently when death stared them in the face and he had never understood how that was possible. He did now, though. He now understood that by staring death in the face he had found peace, something he had lacked his entire life. Chuck sighed once again as he opened his eyes and looked around the cave that had become his sick, twisted home over the past six months. The only regrets he harbored now was not calling his family and friends when he had the chance to before his capture and not seeing the sun or moon one last time. Death, he figured, would not be so bad.

"Captain Bartowski." Chuck shifted his eyes to the man who was now kneeling beside him. This man was the only person in the entire cell that knew English. The intuitive Captain had always thought the commanding officer of the camp had received higher education in an English speaking country. The man had rarely ever spoken to him before. Most of his interrogations had been done without the man present for some reason. Chuck had never been able to figure out why that was, though. Perhaps the man had other things more important to do than waste time on him. "It is now time for you to be punished by the almighty Allah for your sins."

Chuck merely nodded at the man, surprising the older man. Clearly, he had expected Chuck to fight him as every other prisoner before him had done. No, the once proud Captain would not be fighting this day. He knew he would be dying this day.

"You surprise me, Captain," the man said after two of his subordinates had picked him up by the armpits. The commanding officer looked at him studiously, curiously even. "We have tortured you for over six months and you have said nothing to us. We knew who you were and what you did. You only tried escaping once and, even when you know you will die, you still do not fight. Either you are a coward or a very brave man. I, however, believe it is the latter. It truly is sad you are an infidel. You would have made a fine soldier for Allah."

"I'm afraid you're wrong, sir." Chuck smiled sadly as he looked the man in front of him square in the eyes. "I could never kill innocents and live with myself.

The commanding officer studied him for a few seconds longer before ordering his men to drag Chuck into the recording chamber. The men followed the order and let the Captain's legs drag uselessly behind him, Chuck smiling sadly the entire way.

**18 June 2007**

**Kunar, Afghanistan**

**2140 hours UTC**

Chuck's legs and shoulders had screamed in pain as he was forced to his knees, his arms bound behind his back. He had been in this position for about ten minutes now. It surprised him, though, how much the people that had captured him had prepared for this moment. The lights were all angled a certain way which made his eyes sting in protest because they were much brighter than he was accommodated to and they even had poster boards the speaker would read off of when it was time for him to give his speech.

With everybody in position, the red light on the camera flicked on, signaling the camera was now recording.

"This, America," Chuck heard the man say angrily in Arabic to the camera, "Is just another example of the punishment to be received for your sins against the almighty Allah!"

Chuck watched the masked man with his eyes as he began to walk back and forth, his hands flying in the air with every word he spoke. It wouldn't be long.

"This man, one Captain Bartowski, has been in captivity for over six months now, but he has not yet paid for his sins. Only in death will he be punished! America, if you do not change your heretical ways then you too shall be punished by the awesome power of Allah! You have seen many men before this one die. How long will you wait to stop your evil ways, America? How many must we kill before you recognize your sins, infidels? Let Captain Bartowski be yet another example for you all of what will happen if you do not convert to the merciful Allah!"

Chuck looked into the camera for the first time since it had began recording as he saw two masked men come up beside him. One of the men went behind him and held his arms to keep him still while the other grabbed the top of his head and forced it down before he stuck a dull knife to the back of Chuck's neck.

What happened next confused everybody present in the room.

Shots were heard directly outside of the cave, causing everybody to pause in their actions and look to where Chuck presumed the entrance was located. Time stood still as everybody in the room listened as the sound of men screaming and gunshots being fired filled the chamber.

Even after time slowed to a halt, it had a way of fast forwarding to catch back up after the initial halt was over.

Everybody in the room scrambled into defensive positions around the chamber other than the two men who were holding Chuck captive. They were going to finish the job. The man with the knife broke the skin with one clean, slow slice, causing Chuck to scream in agony.

He never got to make a second slice.

Gunshots pervaded the air within their chamber and Chuck felt the grip of the two men go slack. Not having the strength to keep himself upright any longer he began to fall forward through the air, his head heading for a rock jutting up out of the ground.

The last thing the Captain saw before he was knocked out was three of his captors in the back of the room shooting their comrades.

**18 June 2007**

**Somewhere over Afghanistan**

**2342 hours UTC**

He was only mildly aware of the pain in his body as he was jarred from his unconsciousness by vibrations in the floor below him. His mind was hazy and his vision was blurry as he tried to take in his surroundings and failed. He tried to move his limbs but something was stopping him. When he began to panic, whatever was stopping his movement pushed down on him with more force than before.

"Charles, you have to stop moving."

That was not the voice of one of his captors. That voice was not even male. It was soothing. He wanted to listen to it. It must have been an angel. Chuck forced his left eye open again and was greeted by a female with a glowing, golden halo. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"God is real," Chuck murmured while reaching his hand out toward the glowing woman. "He sent you to rescue me."

Chuck's hand fell limp as his world once again plunged into darkness.

**XvXvX**

**A/N: **Well, because of the amazing response to this story I decided to work my butt off and reward you guys with a timely update! Seriously, this one chapter has broken all previous records of most reviews and alert +'s for one chapter! Thank you guys so much! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you thought!

**Next Chapter: **(Recovery) Chuck wakes up in a hospital in D.C. and we get to see exactly how Sarah pulled off her op! I may even decide to throw in a little Awesome, Ellie, and Morgan action too!


	3. Chapter 2: Recovery

**A/N: **So I am sorry that it took me so long to get back to this story. It has been agonizing being away for so long, and I'm sure it has been for you guys as well. I am now in a position that I can write a bit more freely now. To say the least, I am back! And you guys are awesome. Thank you. I loved every one of your reviews. **NMH** was the winner of the cameo appearance in this chapter. So thank you **NMH**! Be looking for the cameo in this chapter! **Merry Christmas to you all!**

Also, if you have not checked out "Chuck vs the Inevitability of Life" by **Chuckfan56** I suggest you do! It's great read!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the awesomely awesome show that is Chuck. Sad day for me, but at least I get to make fan fiction about it! YAY for me!

**Chuck vs. Destiny**

**Chapter 2: **Recovery

**19 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital (CIA undercover hospital)**

**0615 ET**

Agent Walker looked at the silent and still body of Captain Charles Bartowski. Ever since he had lost consciousness on the C-130 flight back to America he had not regained it. He had been out for a little over twelve hours. Agent Walker wanted nothing more than to personally report the overall success of Captain Bartowski's extraction, but her orders were clear: she was to remain with the Captain at all times, whether by watching him by camera or in person. So, instead of reporting to Director Graham in person she had been forced to report the entirety of the mission to the Director over a secure phone line.

There had been perks, of course, for completing her mission successfully. Captain Reed had been promoted to Major Reed as reward for staying successfully hidden for a year in an al Qaeda cell and for helping extract Captain Bartowski. It also helped that the al Qaeda cell had been completely destroyed and that the previously unknown biochemical weapons had been contained before they could be unleashed. The entirety of Captain Reed's team had also been promoted and reassigned to a new mission somewhere in Northern Korea, looking for a drug cartel. Agent Walker, though not thoroughly pleased with the outcome, had been given the CIA's most important mission: protection of the asset, Captain Charles Bartowski, and convincing said asset into becoming the Human Intersect.

Sarah looked out the window of the patient holding room, remembering the condition she had found him in. Even if they had not planned on executing him, Captain Bartowski would have been dead if they had been two days later. He had almost died on the plane ride back to America. If the C-130 had not have had a vast amount of medical equipment and a CIA trauma surgeon on board then Chuck would not have made it back to the States with a pulse. She looked at the heart rate monitor and smiled slightly at the slow, almost melodic beat. Even if she was not happy with her assignment, that slow beeping noise was the key to her further advancement in the agency.

She looked back at the man lying in the bed and a frown replaced her slight smile. Sarah Walker was not one to usually feel sorry for people, but she could not help it when it came to the Army Captain's position. He hardly looked like a man of the military any more. She had seen pictures of him in his file. He had been in shape. He had not been overly muscular, but he had not been small either. He had been incredibly fit; he had previously owned the fit body that even some male agents would like to have. His hair had been short and neat, perfectly befitting of an Army officer.

Captain Charles Bartowski now looked like a frail and broken man. His hair had grown to be a little over six inches long. It was curly and had been matted down when they had found him. His once fit form had long since been lost. His ribs jutted out of his skin and his stomach sunk in unhealthily. His arms and legs were almost completely bone. Her arms were now bigger than his. He looked like a skeleton with skin. His face was covered with cuts and bruises and his eyes were nearly swollen shut. His face was almost unrecognizable. Had there been other Americans of similar build as him in the cave they would not have been able to recognize him.

The door to the room clicked open and Sarah instinctively jumped to her feet and reached for the pistol at the small of her back. She had been so lost in thought that she had forgotten where she was. Field agents were normally required to turn in their weapons upon entering the hospital, but hers was a special case. She was guarding a man who was worth more than a General's life as Graham put it.

When she saw the doctor who had been watching over Captain Bartowski her body visibly relaxed. He was staring down at his patient's charts. He was doing his morning rounds. She watched as the doctor checked the patient's monitors and assessed the wounds the Captain had sustained while humming an unrecognizable tune. He scribbled a few notes down on the clip board and paused in his work to put the pen behind the metal clip of his board before he checked the bags that were hanging on the IV rack. The pen, of course, slipped out of its position and clattered under Captain Bartowski's bed without either man knowing any different.

"What is his condition, doctor?" Sarah stood with her arms crossed as she examined the man in front of her once again.

Doctor Isaac Wilcox turned and acknowledged Sarah for the first time since entering the room. He was a very outgoing man, as which was very different from the rest of the doctors the CIA had on their pay roll. Even though he differed greatly from the rest of the doctors on staff, she had been told he was the best the CIA had to offer. He smiled at her in a friendly demeanor which showed in his brown eyes, which were accented by his unruly light brown hair. Had the situation been different the hardened agent may have smiled back at him.

"Agent Walker, it's always a pleasure. I trust that you are doing well?" Doctor Wilcox smiled as he extended his right hand toward Sarah. Both of them stared at his outstretched hand awkwardly for a few seconds before the CIA agent grabbed his hand and shook it in welcome.

"Excuse me if I do not have time for pleasantries today, Doctor Wilcox, but I must be updated of my asset whenever a doctor assesses him."

"Ah, of course, ma'am. Please forgive me." Dr. Wilcox began to fiddle with the band of his wrist watch as he looked over Captain Bartowski's chart. One thing he hated about working in a CIA facility was that the agents were usually so cut and dry that it made him nervous to be around him most of the time, and feeling Agent Walker's hard gaze on him while he checked the patient's chart made him feel all the more nervous. After a few seconds he saw that he had not added a comment about the Captain's status that needed to be included in the chart. Dr. Wilcox quickly reached for the pen he had put behind the metal clip and found that the pen was no longer there. Naturally, he began to check his pockets for the missing item. "Have you seen my pen, Agent Walker? I seem to have misplaced it."

"Doctor." The blonde agent's harsh tone made Dr. Wilcox's had to snap around and look at her quickly. "The pen is under the bed. Please tell me what Captain Bartowski's current status and then retrieve your pen. I'll leave you to do your work after you've done so."

Dr. Wilcox was still playing with his watch band while Sarah stared at him expectantly. They stood staring at one another for a few seconds before the friendly doctor smiled at her nervously and began his report.

"His condition is the same as it was before, Agent Walker. He has experienced extreme malnutrition and major muscle atrophy. Five of his ribs are broken and he has a hairline fracture in his right tibia. He had a concussion and cracked his skull open along his frontal lobe. Captain Bartowski has suffered several contusions over his body as a result of the beatings he received while imprisoned, which, as you can see, have caused several spots of major swelling across his body. The gunshot wounds he suffered in both his legs had bacterial infections that would have caused him to lose his legs had you arrived a day later. He also had minor internal bleeding which was taken care of on the plane. We have him on strong antibiotics, a saline drip, and morphine. My personal opinion is that he will live, and he may also have suffered brain damage. We will have to check on the functionality of his brain when he wakes up. His recovery will be extremely difficult, but he will most likely live."

She sighed slightly as she looked from the Doctor to the patient who was still lying quietly in his bed. It annoyed her a bit that he was not awake yet, but she knew with all that he had been through that he would be unconscious for a long time to come.

"Anything else, Agent Walker?"

Sarah shook her head and watched as Doctor Wilcox walked out of the room with one last smile at the blonde agent and a friendly wave goodbye.

**19 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital**

**1423 hours ET**

Sarah Walker was tired. Over the last three days she had gotten only six hours of sleep and she had not slept at all since she had gotten to the hospital with Captain Bartowski. Her eyelids had become heavy and her eyes burned. They had been threatening to shut on her for the past two hours. The doctor had been in two more times to check on his patient since his morning rounds, and each time she had asked him the same question. Each time she had gotten the same answer and the same friendly smile and wave from Doctor Wilcox. She would have let her eyes close and drift into sleep two hours ago, but the Captain had taken to moaning in his sleep every few minutes. She had a feeling he would be waking up soon.

**19 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital**

**2115 hours ET**

She heard screams. Loud screams. She twisted uncomfortably in her chair and furrowed her eyebrows. She must have left her television on again. The damn thing always put her to sleep. When had she fallen asleep? The last thing she remembered was…

Sarah shot out of the hospital chair and threw off the blanket that had been placed over her body as her eyes shot open and darted over to Captain Bartowki's bed. He was sitting up, his eyes closed and he was screaming from fear. He had been dreaming of his captivity. He had no idea where he was.

Instinctively, she leapt over to his bedside and forced his shoulders back onto the bed. Even though he had become small from muscle atrophy he was still strong in his delirium. It had taken a considerable amount of effort for her to keep him pinned back to his bed. She did not want him to rip out his stitches or IV needles. She also had to worry about causing the internal bleeding to return in his delicate state.

"Captain Bartowski! You have to calm down! You're safe; you're in no danger here!"

"THEY'RE GOING TO KILL ME! I'VE BEEN HERE TOO LONG! I WANT OUT! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! LET ME GO! I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU TAKE ME!" Chuck began to struggle harder against his imaginary captor and almost threw Sarah off of him. His hands, which had previously been trying to throw her hands away from him moved up to her throat and began to choke her.

"Don't make me kill you, too! I'll do it! I have to get out of here!"

Sarah let go of Chuck and grabbed a hold of his wrists. She dislodged his hands from her throat and used her left hand to hold both of his above his head while she placed her right forearm at the top of his chest where his ribs were not broken and held him down. Sarah stayed like that for a few seconds when four nurses and a doctor busted into the room, the doctor carrying a syringe. They immediately ran to the bedside.

"What are you going to do?" Sarah asked as the doctor stuck the needle into one of the empty tubes of Chuck's saline drip.

"We're going to sedate him. We can't have him thrashing around like this. He's a danger to himself and others."

"No! You're not going to do anything to him right now! I've got this handled."

The doctor's hand paused just as he was about to push the medication and looked at her incredulously, but Sarah did not back down. She gave him a look that showed she meant business while she continued to hold Captain Bartowski down. They continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before the doctor took his thumb off the plunger.

"You have one minute. If he is not calmed down by then I am going to sedate him."

Sarah, not wasting any time, moved her head beside Chuck's ear and began to whisper soothingly. "Charles, listen to me. You are not in Afghanistan any more. You're back. You're home, here in America. You are safe."

"You're lying! You're all going to kill me!"

"Charles, nobody is going to die here today. You are safe. As long as you listen to me and calm down you will be okay. Nothing is going to happen to you, not as long as I'm around. You're safe, Charles."

Chuck continued to struggle against Sarah, but he began to calm down slowly as she continued to whisper into his ear. After several more seconds his body became still, his breathing slowed down, and his heart rate slowed down as well. After another minute Sarah was able to comfortably release Chuck from her grip and stepped back slightly. She then proceeded to smile knowingly over at the grumpy Doctor Gerowitz as he pulled the syringe out of the tube connected to the IV drip. He and all the nurses with him left without another word. He would send a younger doctor to check on him in a few minutes.

**20 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital**

**1447 hours ET**

Agent Walker was jarred from her thoughts by the sound of mumbling. After she had restrained Chuck during his violent outburst and calmed him down he had fallen back asleep. She had been quick to follow his example. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, she had returned to the Captain's room and had been thinking of her life and of the past few days until now.

"Where…where am I?" Captain Bartowski groaned slightly in pain as he lifted his hands to his face to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "When did they put lights in the cave? And why is the cave floor so soft?"

He had no memory of the past couple of days.

"You're in Washington D.C. You're in the hospital. Private recovery room." Agent Walker stood up and slowly walked to her asset's bedside. "How are you feeling, Captain Bartowski?"

Chuck's eyes shot open at the sound of her voice and he squinted as he stared at her for about a minute.

"Are you ok, Captain?"

"Oh, sorry." Chuck smiled slightly as he looked away from the beautiful blonde agent. "I didn't mean to stare at you. I just haven't seen anybody in what feels like forever."

"How are you feeling, Captain?"

"Please, call me Chuck." A shocked look came over the Captain's face like he had forgotten to do something. Agent Walker looked at him in understanding as his eyes quickly darted around the room and checked what was dripping into his IV tubes. It was a habit he had picked up from being captured and tortured. Waking after being unconscious for so long had slowed his thought process enough for him to not give into that particular habit. She continued to look at him as he slowly calmed down. "Sorry… just a weird habit I picked up from being in a war zone. I feel ok other than the throbbing pain all over my body. It's not too bad. How did I get here?"

Sarah smiled at the injured soldier before she lowered the bed's side support rail and sat on the little space available on it. "There was a small team of Green Berets at the al Qaeda cell where you were being held. When they were able to communicate with their commanding officers they reported that you were being held as a prisoner of war. Word got to the CIA and they sent me to help retrieve you."

It took a moment for Chuck to process the information he had been given and confusion spread across his face when he finally had. Most would have been happy just to be alive, but Chuck knew that if the CIA got involved then it meant they wanted something from him. But what information could he give them that the Green Berets in the cave already did not know? He may be an intel analyst, but he didn't know that kind of information. "The CIA? Why do they want me? Who are you and why did they send you to get me? I'm only an intel analyst and I'm only a Captain."

"My name is CIA Agent Sarah Walker," she replied as she showed him her credentials. She noted his eyes quickly scanning her credentials and looking her up and down. Normally she would have been offended by a guy not even bothering to cover up his checking her out, but she knew that was not what he was doing. Captain Bartowski was quickly analyzing her and her credentials, as the Army had trained him to do. He was already in work mode. "The CIA wants you for a top secret project: Project Omaha. You would virtually keep the same job you have now, but you would be a little more involved. You would also work for the CIA instead of the United States Army. Testing from a few years ago, as well as your work records, show that you are the perfect candidate for this project. This is as much detail as I can go into here about what the CIA wants with you. If you agree, you will be transferred to a safer location after Dr. Wilcox clears you for transportation where you will learn more about Project Omaha and your possible function within said project."

Captain Bartowski stared at the ceiling after Agent Walker stopped speaking to him. He stared at the fluorescent lighting for a few minutes while going over what he had just been told. "I see. So the only reason I was rescued in the first place was because the government wanted me to help them?" A worried look came over Agent Walker's face until the Captain began to laugh. "That sounds exactly like what the recruiter told me before I joined the military."

"I'm afraid so, Chuck. My orders were to help the team of Green Berets rescue you and to ensure your safe delivery to Langley." She did not understand how he could go from being so serious to casually laughing off such a statement that she had given him. Normally, she would say such a person was insane, but there was something about the Captain in front of her that made her believe otherwise.

"How long have you been working for the CIA, Agent Walker?" Chuck shifted his gaze to the agent in front of him. She was stiff, even less relaxed than he was.

"I have been working for the company for a little over eight years now. I was recruited my senior year of high school, completed my training during college, and even did a few missions my last year and a half of school. You can trust your life with me, Chuck. I'm the best the agency has to offer."

The recovering Captain smiled at the woman in front of him. She had misunderstood him. His question was not meant to assess her skill, it a question asked only out of interest. "Tell me, Agent Walker, what's your favorite band?"

"W-what?" The question had caught her off guard. She had not expected Chuck to slip away from professionalism at all. She had read in his file that he had been a well liked commanding officer so she probably should have expected the question.

"What is your favorite band?" Chuck smiled his disarming smile as he watched Sarah nearly stumble over herself repeatedly. He knew exactly what he was doing to her and he was enjoying it.

"I don't have a favorite band." Her eyebrow quirked at him as she overcame her shock at his question. _'He certainly is a different kind of person. I wonder why he hasn't asked about Afghanistan yet. I guess he probably doesn't want to think about it. I guess I wouldn't either.'_

"You're kidding me?" Chuck laughed heartily before quickly clutching his side. Sarah couldn't help but smile at the man as he looked at her in shock. "I mean…. I know working for the government is time consuming, but you must have enough time to listen to some music or even go to some bar on a Saturday night and hear a cover band."

"I'm afraid not." Agent Walker cleared her throat as she looked away in slight embarrassment. "Working for the company doesn't really leave me much personal time. So music hasn't really been on the top of my priority list."

"I couldn't imagine living a week without my music." Chuck looked at her incredulously for a few seconds before his thought's turned darker. "Well, I guess I could. I did live without music for a few months."

Sarah's smile disappeared as she looked at Chuck. His eyes had become glassed over and distant. He was thinking back to the cave. That was one place he did not need to go. Not right now.

"What is your favorite band, Chuck?"

"What?" She had successfully brought him out of his memories.

"What's your favorite band?"

"Uh… Well, I don't really have a favorite band, but I love all kinds of bands. Have you ever heard of the Red Hot Chili Peppers?"

"What?"

"The Eagles?"

"Who?"

"Rise Against?"

"Why are they protesting?"

"Wow, you really know nothing about music. I'm going to have to get my Ipod mailed to me here from Encino just so you can hear some groups. I'm guessing we'll have plenty of time to ourselves in this place while I recover."

Sarah shifted uncomfortably where she sat. "I'm not sure that we'll be able to get much of anything while we're here, Chuck. You're a high priority asset, which means your safety is our number one goal. We can't have you falling into enemy hands."

Chuck made a move to sit up, but he failed miserably. The withered Captain groaned as he fell back in pain in his bed. He was tired of lying down. He had done too much of it the past few months. He wanted nothing more than to stand and walk around freely, but he knew he would not be able to. Agent Walker smiled sadly at him as she grabbed the remote to his bed that had fallen off the side. She handed it to him and let him adjust the bed to his liking.

"Thank you, Agent Walker." Chuck looked over to his bedside table and saw that a glass of water had been sitting there the entire time. He winced as he reached for the glass, but he would have refused help anyway. He wanted to do as much for himself as he could. "So how would it be dangerous to have my sister go into my apartment, grab my Ipod, and mail it to us here?"

"We never know who could be handling the mail," Sarah replied instantly. "A rogue agent could intercept the package and learn about you through sheer interest alone. The chances are small but things of smaller probability have happened before. We cannot take the chance."

"So I'm guessing there is no way I could call my sister and let her know I'm okay then is there?" Chuck frowned as he looked at Sarah. One of the things that had been on the forefront of his mind was getting in touch with his sister. He had not spoken to her since two months before his abduction. "I know I could never mention anything about the CIA, and if I told her anything about my rescue it would be that an infantry unit on patrol happened to find the al Qaeda cell I had been kept captor in. I just want to hear her voice more than anything."

Again, Sarah shifted uncomfortably as she looked at Chuck with a frown on her face. "I'm not sure if we can even allow that much, Chuck. I will talk to the CIA director about letting you call her from a secure line, but I'm not sure if he will allow it or not. There are two problems with that. If somebody does somehow manage to trace the call it could endanger both you and your sister. Also, your sister may take it upon herself to try to fly out here to see you. I know you would tell her where we are, and, given that she has not heard from you in months, she will want to see you as soon as possible."

"I know she would, but I need to talk to her. Can you please talk to your boss for me? I have had nothing the past few months. She's the only family I have left. I have waited for months to talk to her. I can't wait any longer."

"I'll see what I can do."

Captain Bartowski nodded his thanks to Agent Walker and they both fell into a comfortable silence. The blonde woman had taken to staring at Chuck through the corner of her eyes while the brown haired man stared at the window blinds in deep thought. Neither of them moved in their thought. Both were thinking of entirely different things, but neither of them seemed inclined to speak of their thoughts. They both stayed like this for several minutes before Agent Walker stood up and began to walk to the door, most likely to tell her boss that Chuck was awake.

"Agent Walker," Chuck said just before she reached the door. He was still looking at the shades covering the window. "Just one more thing when you're done talking to the Director, please?"

"Yes, Chuck?" Sarah paused with her hand on the door handle.

"When you get back I want you to tell me what happened in that cave in Kunar."

She left without a word.

XvXvX

**A/N: **Ok, so I know I promised the story of the cave and some Ellie action this chapter, but I could not see it fitting in just yet so I promise I will get to it later. I have already done some rough drafts of the cave sequence and it looks like it's going to be long so it should take up most of next chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this new installment. Please read and review!

**Next Chapter:** (Recount) Sarah has a discussion with Graham and she also tells Chuck of his rescue. Also, Chuck gets to have his brain activity checked!


	4. Chapter 3: Recount

**A/N:** I'm so glad to be back writing this story. It's felt amazing so far. I have to thank all of you guys for your reviews!

Also, if you have not checked out "Chuck vs the Inevitability of Life" by **Chuckfan56** I suggest you do! It's great read!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Chuck. If I did then it would not be as awesome as it is.

**Chuck vs. Destiny**

Chapter 3: Recount

**20 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital (Sarah's secret observation post)**

**1600 hours ET**

"He's awake, sir." Sarah Walker rechecked the face of her cell phone to make sure she had proper coverage in the room she was currently located. She did not want the call to end prematurely because the reception was sub par. That had happened once before and she neither intend to repeat that incident nor wanted a repeat of the ass chewing she had received that day. "He is very much aware. The doctors should be coming up any second to check for signs of brain damage."

"Very good, Agent Walker." Graham sounded far less pleased than when they had met three days previous. She could not blame him, though. The workload that Captain Bartowski had brought with him was well beyond what any of them had imagined, and it was not even a sure thing that he would want to be a part of Project OMAHA. Sarah held back a cringe when she thought of the paperwork that Chuck agreeing to participate in the project would generate. "What have you told him about his rescue and his role in Project OMAHA?"

Agent Walker thought about her response as she walked over to the window and bent the blinds so she could see the front of the hospital. "I have told him nothing of his rescue from the cave in Kunar, sir. He will want to know. I am trying to figure out how and what I will tell him. I did tell him vague details about his role in Project OMAHA, but only enough to hopefully spark his interest in joining the company."

"Tell him the truth about his rescue, Walker. He deserves that. Also, we cannot afford to lie to him just yet. We need him and we can not afford to lose him." Sarah remained quiet when she heard the door to Graham's office open. She tried to distinguish the garbled words that were coming over the phone. He did not want her to hear what was being sad. "Walker, the Director of the NSA wishes to have a video conference with you. Has the room I requested been fitted with all that I asked?"

"Yes, sir." Sarah turned on the flat screen television that was mounted on the wall next to the larger television that showed Captain Bartowski's room. After a few seconds the serious face of Director Graham showed filled much of the television and Sarah took that as her queue to hang up the phone. As he backed away from the television it showed a stern looking Air Force Brigadier General. "Good evening, ma'am."

The Air Force General nodded at Agent Walker in return. She could already tell the head of the NSA was a very strict and to-the-point woman. "Agent Walker, this is General Beckman. As I said before the President wants the NSA and the CIA to work together on Project OMAHA. The General will be working with me on Project Omaha and also will have a say in the worth of Captain Bartowski in this project. It also means that soon you will be receiving a partner from the NSA. You'll know more about him when the time comes."

"Good Evening, Agent Walker." Sarah had been correct: this woman was about as cut and dry as powdered milk. The thought occurred to her that she might be about as pleasant as powdered milk as well. "I would like to congratulate you on your successful joint op with Major Reed. Now, onto business…"

Captain Bartowski's face popped into a little window on the television. It included the files that she had already seen on him and had read on the ride to Afghanistan. It had been updated to include his current condition as well as the condition in which he had been found.

"What is the predicted date of Captain Bartowski's release from D.C. East Medical Hospital?" General Beckman looked at her expectantly with semi-pursed lips. Any normal agent would have been nervous, but Sarah had been dealing directly with the higher ups for a few years now. "We need to begin preparations for his arrival as soon as possible. I do not think I need to stress how important the Captain is to both the CIA and the NSA."

"No, Ma'am," Sarah replied instantly, keeping her face neutral as she looked the General directly in the eyes. "Dr. Wilcox predicts that Captain Bartowski's release date will be the morning of the twenty-seventh. He will be movable within a week's time, but we will still be required to handle him with care. It will take approximately three months to be ready for a light training regiment, and it will take approximately six months for him to be nearly completely healed. The doctor says he will have to have perfect diet, physical therapy, and exercise regiments to be ready to train. After his injuries are healed, Captain Bartowski's largest risk factor pertaining to his particular training regiment will be his weight."

"Very good, Walker." Director Graham gave Sarah a small smile before he quickly reverted back to his serious demeanor. "We need you to closely monitor the Captain. Make sure he is doing well and keep on the doctors and nurses. We'll need him to be healthy enough to handle the Intersect download within a month's time. If anything should change with Captain Bartowski or his status you are to inform us immediately. Do you understand, Agent Walker?"

"Yes, sir."

"If you do not have any questions we will allow you to resume guarding Bartowski."

"I do have one, sir." Sarah looked from Graham to Beckman with confidence. She had not forgotten Chuck's request, and she would need to be able to sell it off very well in order for her asset to call or see his sister. "If I may?"

"Proceed, Walker." General Beckman, obviously, was not entirely happy with Sarah at the moment, but Sarah knew she would get over it eventually.

"Thank you, General." Sarah continued to look them both in the eyes. She would not let them intimidate her like they did so many other agents. Besides, Sarah knew the only reason Graham was trying was because Beckman was there and he had to save face in front of her. "Captain Bartowski has requested a phone call to his sister. Normally, I would be against any kind of contact with family at this point, but the Captain's case seems to be a bit….well….special."

"How so, Agent Walker?" The General was looking less and less pleased by the second.

"From what little time I have spent with Captain Bartowski while he was awake and from the files I have read of him he seems to have a certain dependence on his sister. I believe that Captain Bartowski would be desperate enough to get in contact with her that he may wait for a point in time where I cannot watch him and make an unsafe call from a hospital phone to her. I propose that I get in touch with Miss Elanore Bartowski and inform her where the Captain is and then allow her to come here to stay with him before we transport him to Langley."

"Walker, that is preposterous! Tell me why on Earth we should allow you to take such a risk with the most valuable asset the government has seen in nearly three decades?" Sarah bit back the urge to smile when Beckman's lips all but disappeared.

"Because I would not be surprised if enemy organizations were monitoring the calls coming in and out of this hospital. If we do not allow Captain Bartowski to make contact with his sister then he will call her one or more times. We would be taking a chance that the enemy would develop an interest in him and we would potentially lose the Captain to the hands of an enemy organization. Calling his sister will not be enough for him, ma'am. If we let him see her then I believe that his desire will be satiated. If allowed, I will make the arrangements in a safe manner that will not leave room for mistake. Also, we could tell Miss Bartowski that since Captain Bartowski is an intelligence analyst he will receive his military medals at a private banquet in Langley. The ceremony is to take place next week. No civilians allowed."

Sarah had to bite her tongue to keep herself from smiling once she had finished her explanation. General Beckman looked like she had just swallowed a brick covered in Elmer's school glue and Director Graham coughed, obviously attempting to conceal laughter… and failing to do so.

"Very well, Walker. See to it that this goes as you have planned. If anything happens to Bartowski your ass is going to be on the chopping block, understood?" Graham didn't waste time waiting for a reply before he cut the connection. Sarah was sure that Graham was listening quietly while General Beckman yelled his ear off.

Sighing from relief, Agent Walker looked at the other television monitor to see Dr. Gerowitz checking Chuck for brain damage. Smiling, she walked out of the room to join him.

**20 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital (Chuck's room)**

**1621 hours ET**

"Good, Captain Bartowski, now follow my finger." Chuck sighed in annoyance as he followed the doctor's right index finger as he made a cross pattern for the third time since he had entered the room. Chuck chalked it up to the CIA being super thorough, but enough was enough! "Very good, Captain Bartowski."

"Are we done here?" Chuck made a move to cross his arms, but only ended up yelping from pain.

Dr. Gerowitz rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and fingers out of annoyance. "Believe me when I say that I want to be in this particular room even less than you do, Captain Bartowski."

"And I told you to call me Chuck." There were few people in the world that irritated Charles Bartowski, but Doctor Gerowitz was just the right combination of antisocial and grumpy to get the job done.

"And I have politely declined every time, Captain Bartowski." Chuck rolled his eyes as Dr. Gerowitz held up a flash card of a dog. "What is on the card, Captain?" 

Chuck opened his mouth with a droll expression when he heard a knock at the door. He closed his mouth with a wicked smile. Sarah was coming in. It was time to play a little game with the good Doctor. "Dr. Gerowitz, everybody knows that dogs go MOOOOOO!"

Chuck sat up in his bed with a look of smug satisfaction while the doctor stared at him angrily and Sarah wore a look of shock. She had not been in the room for the beginning of the test so she genuinely thought something was wrong with Chuck.

"Captain Bartowski, I should not need to remind you that there is no room for pranksters within my work time. This is the third time you've been through my tests and the first time you have answered anything wrong. Might I suggest a good, thorough dose of maturity?"

Dr. Gerowitz gave both Chuck and Sarah a dirty look before he exited the room. As soon as he had left Chuck started to laugh, but had to quickly clutch his side in pain. Sarah smiled at him and shook her head as she sat down beside his bed in the chair the hospital provided for visitors.

"Dammit."

"What's wrong, Chuck?"

"I forgot to ask them for a razor and some shaving cream again. I keep doing that. This beard that I grew over the past few months is driving me crazy. And once I get out of this place I need to get a haircut." The newly freed Captain began scratching intently at the hair that covered his face. "I don't see how Morgan can stand it."

Sarah smiled at Chuck once more and crossed her legs. "I'll ask a nurse the next time one comes in. I'm sure the haircut can be arranged once we get to Langley. There are a ton of barber shops around town."

Chuck scratched the back of his head and smiled dopily at Sarah. "Thanks a lot. I'm not sure how much longer I could have stood this beard. How did the meeting with your boss go, by the way?"

The Captain was avoiding asking her directly. Sarah knew what he was asking. It seemed he was all business now. "I talked to my bosses and you are not getting a phone call to your sister." She could barely contain her smile as Chuck's face vaulted. "Instead, I will be calling her later tonight after she gets off work and have her flown here tomorrow. I will also speak with the hospital she works at and see to it that all is taken care of."

"Agent Walker, if I were able to I would jump up and hug you right now." Chuck smiled at the blonde agent from ear to ear. "How did you pull that off?"

"Lets just say that after working with the company for so long you learn the ancient art of bullshittery very quickly and how to use it properly on the fly. But, to the point…I am sure that you wish to be alone with your sister since it has been so long since you have seen her. I will be the room next to this one observing this room. I'm afraid that I will have to leave the sound on to make sure that you don't leak any pertinent information. I will be here when Miss Bartowski enters and after the introductions are over I will take my leave. We need to go over the story of how you got here. There will be some cover-ups involved and you will need to lie to her a little bit, but you must remember that she can not know the finer details about your rescue and the reasons behind it. Her not knowing is for her own safety."

"I understand that, Agent Walker. I don't like lying to my sister, but I know that she can not know what is going on." Chuck frowned at the thought of lying to his sister, but he knew that it could not be helped in this situation. Sadly, lying came with his job.

"Very good, Chuck. Now, as for the story,-"

"Actually, Agent Walker, before we begin I was wondering if you could tell me how it was that you rescued me." Chuck looked at Sarah expectantly. She wanted to say no because she knew the story would hurt him, but she could not bring herself to say it. If he wanted to know what happened then she should tell him.

"You understand that you will not be able to tell your sister this story?" Sarah's face remained serious as she waited for Chuck to nod in understanding. When she got what she wanted she continued. "I met up with Captain, now Major, Reed and three CIA agents in a small town outside Kunar. We took a vehicle until we reached the base of the mountains. You were about five miles into the mountains…"

**18 June 2007**

**Kunar, Afghanistan**

**2116 hours UTC**

Agent Walker cursed under her breath as yet another rock fell out from beneath her feet as she climbed up the nearly impassible terrain that Captain Reed had called a trail. She had been walking for nearly five hours. The other CIA agents that had accompanied her had been assigned to areas that were similar to this. Climbing through the mountains of Afghanistan was not a problem for them, but Sarah had spent the vast majority of her missions in either Europe or the States. She had done very little climbing up mountains; most of the time when she climbed it was up the side of a building.

Infantry units had not been back this far into the mountains. According to Captain Reed these mountains were some of the most difficult terrain in the entire country. It was the type of terrain that only allowed small teams to pass in and out, but only if they knew the land by heart. It was easy to see how Captain Bartowski had been captured.

After they had finished discussing the mission specs Sarah asked the Captain exactly how Bartowski had been captured. He had been attached to an infantry unit. For some reason, as was not normal, Bartowski and a team of three other men (one staff sergeant and two privates) decided to do a recon mission on an area that was rumored to have enemy activity. Normally, an infantry unit or a team of scouts would do that, but all the units were actively engaging the enemy and higher wanted reports of the area right away. Bartowski and his men were the only available men to do the recon. Unfortunately, the enemy was ready for them. The al Qaeda cell ambushed them, killing one of the privates and capturing the rest. The staff sergeant and the private were both killed within a month's time of being captured.

Sarah sighed in relief when they reached a flat spot on the trail. Her legs were killing her and they needed a quick stretch. She looked around her at the four men. They were all disguised as Afghani men. They were looking at her, trying to gauge her value and motives in this mission as they drank from their water bladders. She merely returned their gaze as she stretched out her quads and hamstrings.

"How much further do we have left, Captain?" she finally asked in a whisper after a couple minutes of silence. She knew approximately how far they had traveled, but Captain Reed had much better knowledge of the path they were taking than she ever would.

"Not too much father, Agent Walker." He wiped the sweat off of his brow and smeared the grime on his forehead that had accumulated over the many weeks it had been since he had last been able to bathe. "We must be a little more cautious going down the mountain, though. The cave is located on the side of a mountain to the east in the valley below us. There is some vegetation and a rock wall that will provide you concealment from the opening of the cave. You can not be seen or heard. As I have already told you the men in this cell are suspicious of any newcomers. They will be on guard as soon as they see I have brought three new recruits with me. We will quietly subdue the guards. Then I will give you the signal that we are ready for you to enter the cavern. You still remember the route I gave you to travel by?"

Sarah nodded at the older man in reply.

"Good. After you get Bartowski out of there you need to get out as quickly as possible. We have orders to not leave a single witness alive. Most of them will likely be in the central chamber. They usually leave one or two guards in charge of Captain Bartowski. You will have to handle them and ensure the Captain's safety simultaneously. Do you have your ear bud in and set to the right channel?"

Sarah nodded once again. They were underestimating her already.

"Good. If anything changes or you get pinned down let us know immediately."

"Okay, now let's get this over with." Agent Walker was more than a little peeved by this mission. She loved gun and knife play, and she had been looking forward to plenty of it in this mission, but she would be getting none. Since she was in charge of Captain Bartowski's extraction and he was too valuable of an asset she was to avoid enemy contact at all costs.

The Captain nodded to her and silently waved for Sarah and the three CIA agents to follow him. It was more difficult going down the side of the rather large mountain than it was going up, Sarah had quickly found out. This time, however, it was much more difficult than it had been before. The importance of noise discipline had not been more critical than it was now. Her legs screamed in protest, but her spy training allowed her to easily ignore them. She was just ready to get the mission over with and be back in the states reporting to Director Graham.

After a few more minutes of silently negotiating the downward gradient she looked at Captain Reed as he pointed at a small outcropping rock formation and nodded. There were enough bushes that she could crouch low enough not to be seen by the enemy while she made her way to the "rock wall". Captain Reed gave her a small smile as he passed by her hiding spot.

Sarah listened intently as Captain Reed greeted one of the guards to then entrance of the cave in one of the many languages of the land. She was not familiar with any of them. Sarah was more accustomed to Russian, Spanish, Polish, and German. It only took a few seconds for the guards to process that the Captain had brought new people into their cell. Understandingly, they were suspicious and began yelling at the three undercover agents.

The Smith and Wesson 5906's that were in a holster on either side of her seemed to call to her as she sat and listened to her teammates get yelled at in a language she did not understand. She hated that she had to remain hidden and she also hated that she could not understand the language. She had no way of knowing if they would need help or not. Poking her head out from behind the rock outcropping would do little more than expose her and put her team in jeopardy.

Sounds of flesh hitting flesh soon met Sarah's ears, causing her to instinctively grab for one of the throwing knives in her right combat boot. Knife in hand, she listened to what lasted only a few seconds. The two guards had been taken out easily by the four men. While she waited for the signal she held her knife in her left hand and pulled out the Smith and Wesson from her right hip holster. Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out a silencer and attached it to her weapon. After a few seconds she heard metal tapping on metal faintly and she chambered a round. She was clear to enter the cave.

Agent Walker took off at a sprint toward the entrance of the cave. The four men had already disappeared into the dark mouth of the cave and Sarah could hear dull thuds coming from the tunnel to her left. She wanted nothing more than to join the fighting with them, but her route was along the right tunnel. She hoped she would run into at least one person along the way.

She ran for what felt like forever, the sound of her boots slapping against the rock floor echoing all around her in the dimly lit cavern. Sarah's nose crinkled as her breathing quickened. The smell was terrible, but she expected nothing less from the terrorist cell. After another minute of sprinting she wondered if she had taken a wrong turn. Sarah had memorized the cavern layout and knew it by heart, but she thought she would have been in Captain Bartowski's holding chamber by now.

It took a few more seconds, but she made it. The only problem was that Captain Bartowski was not in there, but she was sure she was in the right place. It was the only chamber that had shackles and it was covered in filth and blood. Torture devices were scattered around the chamber and it smelled of decay and death.

Panic coursed through Agent Walker's veins as she fruitlessly looked around the dimly lit chamber. This was not supposed how the mission was supposed go. She feared the worst when she realized that they were most likely too late. She wracked her brain trying to think of other possibilities but she found none. Frowning at the failure, she pressed a button on her watch and brought it up to her mouth.

"Captain Reed, fall back to our rally point. We need to reorganize." Sarah released the button and sighed. She was not used to failure.

It took him a few seconds to respond. "What's going on, Agent Walker?"

"Bartowski is not in the holding chamber. We lost him." She kneeled down to look at a blood spatter that was particularly fresh. "It looks like we were about half an hour too late."

"You're wrong, Walker. Something is up. There are not as many people wandering the tunnels as there usually are. I know where Bartowski is and I was hoping they would put it off until tomorrow, but I guess they got impatient."

"Where is he?" Sarah stared at her watch in frustration. He was wasting valuable time and jeopardizing her mission.

"Do you know where the main chamber is?"

"Yeah, it's just about a minute's run from here. Why?"

"They are executing Captain Bartowski on camera. We don't have long before they begin, I'm afraid."

"Then distract them."

Sarah thought she heard the Captain reply, but she was not listening. Her heart was hammering in her ears as she sprinted toward the main Chamber. There was only one way into the chamber, but it was large. There was no telling how many men they would encounter there, but that did not matter.

In a matter of seconds she heard Captain Reed and the CIA agents open fire on a group of terrorists. She knew they had not made it to the central chamber, but she figured they were close. Sarah hoped that they would get there about the same time.

Her lungs quickly caught on fire. The air was thin in the caves because of the high altitude, but she ignored it. As she rounded a corner Sarah caught sight of two terrorists with their backs turned toward her. Without stopping she threw the throwing knife in her left hand at the terrorist on the left, hitting him in the soft part of the back of his head. The second man turned around and pointed his AK-47 directly at her chest, but before he could fire a shot Sarah raised her pistol and put a round into the man's forehead.

As she passed the two bodies she bent over while running and retrieved her knife. The gunshots were getting closer. She was almost there.

Captain Reed and the three agents were going into the main chamber just as soon as she arrived. Sarah filed in behind them quickly. She was the last person in and was ambushed by a man standing beside the opening to the chamber. Luckily he attacked from her left and she reacted by sinking her knife deep in his neck before taking her other pistol out of its holster. Sarah's eyes caught sight of Captain Bartowski at once. Just as she pulled her pistols up the man with the knife took his first slice out of Captain Bartowski's neck. The trained killer put a round through his head before he got a chance to take a second slice and then shot the other one in the chest.

Sarah watched in horror as Captain Bartowski started falling and hit his head on a rock that was jutting out of the floor. Fear cascaded throughout her body as blood slowly pooled around his head, but it only lasted for a second. She had to deal with the men in the room first.

Sarah ducked behind some sandbags as shots inched closer to her head. Men were yelling in every direction and the only word to describe what was happening in the room was chaos. She could not raise her head high enough to see where she was shooting. She was pinned down. She had picked the worse possible spot in the room to hunker down at…she had nowhere to run for better cover.

It seemed like time took an eternity to pass. She had no idea how long it was until the shots died down, but when they did she was relieved.

"Reed, are there any left alive?"

"None of their men are breathing. They're all dead."

Sarah quickly stood up and scanned the room. Dust made it seem as if a hazy fog had descended on the room, but she could still make out the bodies and the blood through the haze. It was an awful sight. "How many did we lose?"

"I lost one of my men and you lost two of yours. What is Bartowski's status?"

Sarah cursed under her breath as she walked through the haze to find the man they were looking for. When she reached him she assessed his wounds the best she could. "He has a pulse, but he is badly injured. Send my man over here to me. I need him to carry Bartowski. What are you and your men doing?"

"We are going to patrol the cave one more time to make sure we did not miss anybody. We are also going to retrieve all valuable intel and destroy all evidence of Bartowski's ever being here, as are our orders. After that, we are blowing the cave to hell. We have an extraction point set up forty miles from here. We should be fine. I just hate that we have to take Jacobs back in a body bag."

**20 June 2007**

**D.C. East Medical Hospital (Chuck's room)**

**1711 hours ET**

"After that we got you to the extraction point. You woke up once or twice, but you were delirious. You were talking about how 'God does exist'." Sarah had watched Chuck stare out the window as she told him the story. She knew it had to be hard for him to hear her saying those things.

For several minutes they both sat in silence, both pondering about the story that had been told.

"It was a computer failure," Chuck finally said, effectively breaking the silence.

"Excuse me?" Sarah looked at him in confusion as he continued to stare out of the window at nothing in particular.

"The reason my team and I had to go on the recon. The computers at the FOB were down for some reason and our computer guys couldn't get them fixed in time so we wouldn't have to go out to the field." Chuck continued staring as if he were reliving that day. Sarah did not dare interrupt him. "I was helping fix the computers, but it was bad. I couldn't figure it out… We had gone on a few field recons before, but we weren't very experienced at it. Normally, we send scouts or an infantry platoon out to do that sort of thing. We were ambushed. We fought back and I'm sure we took out three of their men, but an RPG went off not too far from us. Private Tanner took the majority of the shrapnel. I was furthest away from it so it only stunned me. That gave them the opportunity they needed to capture us. If only I could have fixed the God damned computers in time. All of this could have been avoided."

Tears formed in Chuck's eyes and Sarah could think of little more to do than watch. She was not used to such displays of emotion. "You couldn't have done anything, Chuck. It's not your fault. You know you can't tell your sister what I have told you, right?"

"I wouldn't want Ellie to know the details. She's a worrier by nature. I'd be surprised if she didn't kill me for disappearing on her like that." The tears glistened down Chuck's cheeks as he laughed humorlessly.

The two of them sat in silence once more as Chuck stared the thousand yard stare out the window of his room. Sarah had no idea how long the silence lasted.

"Where are they buried?"

"Private Danner is going to be buried here in Arlington. CIA agents Thompson and Riddle were most likely cremated and their files terminated." Sarah looked at Chuck in sad understanding.

"I need you to do something for me, Sarah. If you don't do it for me then I will do it myself when I can." Chuck finally turned his gaze toward her for the first time in at least an hour. She could easily see the pain in his eyes. His face still held some semblance of youth, but his eyes looked decades older.

"What do you need, Chuck?"

"I need you to help me get in touch with my superior officer, Major Wilkins. I have to report my men KIA. Private Tanner's body was thrown into a ravine and my other two men were burned alive and are probably amongst the rubble of the cave. I also want to find out where all of their grave sights are. I want to visit them at some point. Private Danner, we can visit before we go to Langley."

"Chuck, I'm afraid I can not let you speak to Major Wilkins. Your contact with the outside world is going to be somewhat limited for a little while. I don't think-"

"God damnit, Sarah, those were my men that I lost! I know that I'm important to your bosses, but I have a responsibility to them! They were my brothers and that comes first. They had families, and those families have been waiting for long enough. They deserve some closure. It is my responsibility to report to Major Wilkins. If your superior can not understand that then he or she is not somebody I want to work for."

Sarah knew she had crossed a line as soon as she said it. She had worked with people in the military. They were often very loyal to their comrades. She should have known better.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you." Chuck looked away from Sarah once again in shame and closed his eyes. "It's just something I have to do."

Agent Walker looked at the man in front of her in awe. In her line of work such loyalty was rarely seen. Hell, it was rarely seen in anybody in this world. He had been through terrible ordeal, but he still thought of others before himself. Sarah looked at him in silence for a few seconds. Chuck Bartowski was a different, and strange, kind of man. Perhaps this mission was not going to be as bad as she thought.

**XvXvX**

**A/N: **Well… the last part of the chapter was so hard to write. I wasn't sure how to end it. Thanks to all of you who have stayed with me thus far. I know that these first few chapters are not the most exciting, but we will be moving on from the hospital after the next chapter! I'm not sure how long the Langley arc will take because it is such a long span of time and there will be a lot of characterization to cover, but I'm sure I'll find a way to entertain you guys! Anyway, please review! It gives me the inspiration to update quicker!

**Next Chapter: **(Reunion) Chuck gets to see Ellie and also speaks with his commanding officer, not at the same time, though, that would just wrong!


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